Luke chapter 15 verse 1. Then drew near unto him all the
publicans and sinners for to hear him. And the Pharisees and
scribes murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners and eateth
with them. And he spake this parable unto
them, saying, What man of you having a hundred sheep, if he
lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness?
and go after that which is lost until he find it. And when he
hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders rejoicing. And
when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbors,
saying unto them, Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep
which was lost. I say unto you that likewise,
joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth more than
over ninety and nine just persons which need no repentance. We've all heard the expression
that a picture is worth a thousand words. That is certainly true
here, isn't it? These first two verses, can you
picture this scene in your mind's eye? The Lord Jesus is surrounded
by publicans and sinners. Publicans. There was hardly a
group of men living in Jerusalem at that time that were more despised,
more hated than publicans. They collected taxes for the
Roman government from their own people, from the Jews. They were
hated. And sinners, sinners. Is that not a beautiful picture?
That's a beautiful picture. The Lord Jesus Christ welcomed
sinners to come to Him. But that's not all. Outside of
that circle, outside of that enclosure of publicans and sinners
surrounding the Lord, there's another group of people. They're
the religious people, very religious people. They're the Pharisees
and the scribes. And they look on the scene. They
look on the scene with disgust. They're repelled by what they
see here. And they say among themselves,
look at that. What a disgusting sight. This
man's doing what they would never think of doing. If they were
walking on the street and brushed up against a sinner, they'd go
home and change clothes. They would consider they'd been
defiled even by coming in contact with one. And they say with disgust,
looking up on this scene of the great shepherd, surrounded by
publicans and sinners, they say, this man receiveth sinners. But in that picture, The center
of attraction, the center of attention is Jesus Christ himself,
is it not? I want us to consider this picture
here in these few verses, the great shepherd of the sheep. That's what we have here. And
he tells them that as the great shepherd, he seeks his sheep,
he finds his sheep, And he saves his sheep. He does all three. He does all three. If they're
done, John, if a sinner's ever found, Christ will have to go
out and find him. He'll have to do it. He'll have
to search for him. If he's ever saved, the great shepherd will
have to do the saving. Do you see that there when we
read it? What did the sheep do? He wandered away. What did he
do in the matter of his salvation, his rescue? Nothing, nothing. The great shepherd did it all.
These 99, our Lord speaks of as being left in the wilderness,
I think represent the Pharisees. They didn't need finding. They
didn't need to be found. Ask them. They've never been
lost. They've never been lost. Turn
back, if you will, to Matthew's Gospel, Chapter 9. After our
Lord called one of these publicans to be a disciple of his, one
of the apostles, Matthew, Levi, Matthew made a feast for our
Lord and invited many other publicans and sinners to come and sit down
with him. And our Lord was there, verse 10 of Matthew 9. And it
came to pass, as Jesus said at meeting the house, behold, many
publicans and sinners came and sat down with him, and his disciples. And when the Pharisees saw what
they said unto his disciples, why eateth your master with publicans
and sinners? But when Jesus heard that, he
said unto them, They that behold me not a physician but they that
are sick." They didn't have a clue what he meant. They didn't have
a clue. Verse 13, but go ye and learn
what that means. Learn what this means and he
quotes from Hosea. I will have mercy and not sacrifice
all your so-called labors. All your attempts at self-righteousness
mean nothing. As a matter of fact, they're
worse than nothing, he tells them. You trying to lay a foundation
of acceptance before a holy God by your own works is futile. It's futile. He says, go and
learn what that means, for I have not come to call the righteous
like you claim to be, but I've come to call sinners to repentance. And so he does. On another occasion,
they told him, When he spoke about the son of man making sinners
free, they said, we've never been in bondage. At the very
time they spoke those words, they were in bondage under the
Roman government. But they said, we've never been
in bondage to any man. How sayest thou then that you
shall make us free? Notwithstanding, notwithstanding,
I mentioned that this is a beautiful picture. Under this picture,
there could be this caption. This blessed everlasting truth. This is a faithful saying. One
redeemed sinner wrote. This is a faithful saying. Christ
Jesus came into the world to save sinners. And that's what
he does. That's what he does. He saves
sinners exactly as he finds them. He doesn't find them as believing
sinners. He grants them faith, but when
he finds them, he doesn't find them as believing, or repenting,
or willing, or living. He finds them just as they are
lost. Lost. Helpless. Without strength. Without God. Without hope. That's who Christ
came to save. In John chapter 9, after our
Lord healed and found and saved that blind man, again the Pharisees
gathered around him and said, are we blind also? And he said,
if you were really blind, you'd have no sin. But now you claim
you see, therefore your sin remaineth. What he was telling them, you
claim to have never been lost. And if you've never been lost,
you've never been found. If you've never been stripped,
stripped of that robe of your own self-righteousness, then
you've never been clothed in that robe, the best robe of the
righteousness of Jesus Christ. If you've never been brought
down, If you've never been stripped, if you've never been brought
down by the Holy Spirit's work, then you've never been lifted
up by God's mighty grace. You can't have one without the
other. I've told you before, perhaps
you knew it before I even made mention of it, but Brother Henry
said one time he was speaking to a lady and asked her, Ma'am,
are you a Christian?" Brother Henry, she replied, I've been
a Christian all my life. Henry said, Ma'am, that's too
long. That's too long. And so it is. There's no such
thing. There's no such thing. But I've
had people tell me that. Have you? In answer to the question,
are you a believer? Oh yes, I've always been a believer.
Really? You've never been lost? You've
never been lost? If so, then you've never been
found. Oh yes, the great shepherd of
the sheep. Consider just a few things here
concerning the great shepherd. See him as he seeks his sheep. See him when he finds his sheep.
And they then see him as he saves his sheep. First of all, the
great shepherd seeks his sheep. Look again at verse 4. What man
of you having a hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth
not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness and go after
that which is lost until he find it? Until he find it. The shepherd takes the initiative. The shepherd must take to the
initiative. He goes out in search of the
sheep. The sheep will never be found
if he doesn't do it. If Christ doesn't take the initiative,
if he doesn't go and find the sheep, the sheep will never be
found. The prophet said, all we like
sheep have gone astray. Paul wrote, there is none that
seeketh after God. Not one. Not one. The sheep wander away. They can
do that. They can do that. But they'll
never wander back. You remember the first thing
our father Adam did after the fall, after he'd sinned and disobeyed
God? The first thing he did when he
heard the voice of God calling him, Adam, where art thou? The
first thing he did was try to hide from God. He tried to hide
from God. Adam was neither willing nor
able to come to God. God came seeking him. Man has been trying like Adam
to hide from God ever since. And one of their favorite hiding
places is in the churches. One of their favorite hiding
places is in religion. One of their favorite places.
Oh, but the great shepherd, As he says here, he goes out in
search of his sheep. He seeks his sheep. Listen to
these words in Ezekiel, Ezekiel chapter 34. Speaking of the great shepherd.
Ezekiel 34 verse 11, for thus saith the Lord God, behold, I,
even I, will both search my sheep and seek them out. I'll do both. As a shepherd seeketh out his
flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered,
so will I seek out my sheep and deliver them out of all places
where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day. And
I will bring them out from the people and gather them from the
countries and will bring them to their own land and feed them
up on the mountains of Israel by the rivers and in all the
inhabited places of the country. I will feed them in a good pasture.
and upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be. There
shall they lie in a good fold, and in a fat pasture shall they
feed upon the mountains of Israel. I will feed my flock, and I will
cause them to lie down, saith the Lord God. I will seek that
which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and
will bind upon that which was broken. and will strengthen that
which was sick, but I will destroy the fat and the strong, and I
will feed with judgment." This is the very reason the Lord Jesus
Christ came to earth in search of his sheep. I came down from
heaven, he said, not to do my own will, this is John 6, but
the will of him that sent me, that is, God his Father, And
this is the will of him that sent me, that of all which he
had given me, I should lose none. Never a man spake like this man. I should lose none but raise
them up again at the last day. This is why in search of his
sheep it was necessary for him to be made like unto his brethren. This is why in the fullness of
time God sent forth his son. Here comes the great shepherd
in search of his sheep, made of a woman, made under the law
in sacrifice, he said. In burnt offering and offering
for sin, you have had no pleasure, therefore I come. In the volume
of the book it is written of me to do thy will, O my God. Notice again in verse 4 it says,
he goes out Searching for it until he find it. Until he find
it. He will not abandon the search. No, he won't. No matter the cost. He will not quit until he finds
his sheep. Look a few pages over here in
Luke chapter 19. This is exactly what we have
here in Luke 19. The great shepherd will not quit
the search until he finds what he's looking for. In Luke 19,
and when Jesus came to the place, verse 5, he looked up. There's
one of his sheep, Zacchaeus. And when Jesus came to the place,
he looked up and saw him and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make
haste and come down for the day. I must. I like that, don't you? I must abide at thy house. One day he said to his disciples,
let us pass over unto the other side. Why? There's one of my
sheep over there. There's one of my sheep possessed
by 2,000 demons. I'm going over to find him. He
can't come to me. He's not able to come to me.
It's against his nature to seek me. And if I don't find him,
he'll remain in that condition. Let's cross over and find that
one sheep given unto me by the Father. For the same reason,
he said, on another occasion, or rather we read, on another
occasion, he must needs pass through Samaria. And again in
John 9, concerning that blind man, we read when the Lord heard
that the Pharisees had cast him out, the Sanhedrin, they excommunicated
him. We don't need you teaching us,
get out of here. That man's a sinner. When the
Lord heard they had cast him out, we're told he found him. He found him. He went out looking
for him. Isn't that a wonderful, wonderful
picture? The great shepherd seeking his
sheep. Is that not how it was with you,
child of God? Is that not exactly how it was
with you, just as we read in this parable? He sought you. He found you. And he hasn't changed. He hasn't changed. He's still
seeking his sheep. With the same power, with the
same mighty grace, with the same determination to find them as
he ever has. Other sheep I have, he said,
which are not of this fold, them also I must bring. Lord, I like the way he talks,
don't you? I must bring. They must hear
my voice. They will follow me. There will
be one fold. There will be one shepherd. They
have eternal life and they will never perish. Oh, that's the
promise of the great shepherd of the sheep. Mothers, fathers,
don't give up. Don't give up on those prodigal
sons and daughters. They may say they won't come,
but if the Great Shepherd says otherwise, they will come. If the Great Shepherd says they
will come, they will. He said, all that the Father
giveth me will come to me. They will come to me. They say,
I won't. He says, you will. Who's going
to have their way? Who's gonna have their way? Whose
will it will prevail? None other than He who is the
mighty God. My people shall be willing in
the day of my power, he says. The Lord willing, this coming
Saturday, I am so looking forward to it. I wish you could all be
there. I'll baptize a rebel who said,
I won't come, I won't bow, I won't believe in your God, I don't
want to hear the gospel, and when I get out of this house,
I'll never go hear it again. That rebel, my youngest son,
I'm going to have the honor of baptizing. He said, I won't come. But the great shepherd said,
oh, you will come. You will come. In the day of
my power, you will come. You will bow. And so he did. Why? Because the great shepherd
said, I'll seek until I find. Oh, just like this father said
concerning his son, for this my son was dead and is alive
again. He was lost, was he lost, but
now he's found and they began to make merry. Secondly, at verse
5 here in Luke 15, and when he hath found it, when he hath found
it, not if, There are no ifs, per chances, hopes, sos, maybes
concerning the Son of God. And when he hath found it, when
he seeks his sheep, he finds his sheep. He's not the frustrated
shepherd, but the great shepherd. It's written of him in Isaiah
42, he shall not fail. He shall not fail. He shall not
fail to find his sheep. He shall not fail to save his
sheep. He shall not fail to keep his sheep. He shall not fail
to bring them all to glory. It'll be the boast of the captain
of our salvation concerning that multitude of sinners that he
lost none. No, no, how could he? He's the
great shepherd. He that is mighty to save. Imagine this. Can you imagine
this? When he has found it, We should read, he can't save
him. He won't cooperate. He's not
willing. This rebel won't take the first
step. Therefore, my hands are tied. My hands are tied until
he does. This search was for nothing. Nonsense. Nonsense. And when he has found it, he
layeth it on his shoulders. Oh, that's another blessed picture,
isn't it? Can you see that? There's the
faithful shepherd reaching down, picking up his wandering sheep
and placing it over his shoulders, holding it firmly securely in
his mighty arms. When he finds his sheep, he saves
his sheep. He picks him up as the psalmist
said. He came to where I was. He reached
down in that horrible miry pit and he lifted me up. Bless his name as only he can. He layeth it on his shoulders.
A picture of his mighty grace. Those are shoulders Shoulders
of omnipotence. Heaven and earth are upheld by
those shoulders. All things are made by him and
maintained, sustained by him. All the purposes of God are fulfilled
by him. The lion of the tribe of Judah
hath prevailed. He carries his sheep. He carries
his sheep. He bears all the weight of the
sheep. It's his responsibility. It's
entirely by his strength, his grace, his mercy, his power that
that sheep is held. What's the sheep doing? He's
just, he's being carried. He's being carried. The shepherd's
doing everything for the sheep. Child of God, you're on his mighty
shoulders. You're kept in his hands. Oh,
you're safe, secure. Oh, Augustus Toplady wrote a
hymn entitled, A Debtor to Mercy Alone. A part of it goes like
this. the work which his goodness began,
the arm of his strength will complete. His promise is yea
and amen and never was forfeited yet. Things future or things
that are now, not all things below or above can make him his
purpose forgo or sever my soul from his love. My name from the
palms of his hand eternity will not erase, impressed on his heart
it remains, in marks of indelible grace. Yes, I to the end shall
endure, as sure as the earnest is given, more happy but not
more secure, the glorified spirits in heaven." Do you notice that
word at the end of verse 5? Rejoicing. We read in Hebrews
12 that our great shepherd for the joy that was set before him
endured the cross. He that carried the great load
of our sins shall certainly carry those for whom he shed his blood
all the way home. Last of all, that brings us to
our last thought here in verse six, and when he cometh home. Again, notice it doesn't say
if he comes home, oh, but when he cometh home. I go, he said,
to prepare a place for you, and if I go, I'll come again and
receive you. Where I am, where I am, that's
heaven, that's glory, that's enough for us to know now. What's
heaven? It's where he is. It's where
he is. What's heaven? It's where the
king of glory is. It's where he is that loved me
and gave himself for me. And he says where he is, all
of his sheep will be brought in time. I go to prepare that
place for you. And if I do, I'll come again,
father. He prayed, I will that they also
whom thou has given me be with me where I am. Turn if you will
to chapter 22 here in Luke. Here the great shepherd snatches
one of his chosen, one of his sheep, one that he was at that
moment redeeming with his own precious blood out of the very
jaws of death as it were. Here in Luke 22, that thief up
on the cross, Look what we read at verse 42. No, I'm sorry, chapter 23. Did I say chapter 22? I meant
chapter 23. Verse 42, this dying man said
unto Jesus, Lord, remember me, remember me when thou comest
into thy kingdom. Verse 43, barely, truthfully,
truthfully, I'll say unto thee today, today thou shalt be with
me in paradise. What a blessed, blessed reality. Today thou shalt be with me in
paradise. When a child of God dies, when
he leaves this world, he's ushered into the presence of the great
shepherd of the sheep to be with him in paradise forever. He says
again here in verse 6, rejoice with me. Rejoice with me for
I have found my sheep which was lost. They're not rejoicing prematurely,
are they? I mean, after all, I've heard
people say we can be saved today and lost tomorrow. We can be
a child of God today and the child of the devil tomorrow.
We better wait and see whether they make it, as the expression
goes. Better wait and see if they reach
glory before the rejoicing takes place. Oh no, the great shepherd
rejoices because he knows. He knows they'll be kept by the
power of God. He knows that they'll never perish. When my spirit, clothed immortal,
Wings its flight to realms of day, This my song through endless
ages, Jesus led me, Jesus led me all the way. Turn back, if you will, to Psalm
84. We'll wrap this up. The 84th Psalm. We read this
concerning every pilgrim. Every child of God, here in Psalm
84 verse 7, they go from strength to strength. Every one of them
in Zion appeareth before God because salvation is of the Lord. It's not their doing, it's his
doing. It's not their work, it's his work. Verse 11, for the Lord
God is a sun and a shield. The Lord will give grace and
glory. No good thing will he withhold
from them that walk upright. You remember when David finally
was seated upon the throne as Israel's king. He asked, is there
any left of the seed of Saul that I may show mercy to? I promised
my beloved friend, Jonathan, that I would. Is there anyone
left? And they said, there's one down
in Lodabar. There's one named Mephibosheth. He's a cripple. And David said,
go fetch him. Oh, that's what we read up here
in Luke 7. Our great shepherd goes and fetches
all of his sheep. He fetches them by his mighty
grace. So they go down to Lodabar and
they fetch Mephibosheth and bring him back to David. And this poor
man is scared to death. He's scared to death. He thinks,
well, I'm the last one, one of the few remaining of the house
of Saul, and now he's going to take my life. I'm going to die
just as Saul died. This is the thoughts of Meshivashep
when he comes in to the presence of the king in 2 Samuel 9, verse
8. And he bowed himself and said,
what is thy servant that thou shouldest look upon such a dead
dog as I am? David says, I'm not gonna, fear
not. I'm not gonna do you any harm. I will surely show thee
kindness for Jonathan, verse seven, thy father's sake. And
the king called to Ziba, Saul's servant, and said unto him, I
have given unto thy master's son all that pertaineth to Saul
and to all his house. Down in verse 13, so Mephibosheth
dwelt in Jerusalem, for he did eat, continually at the king's
table. Continually. All of his life
long, he ate at the king's table. Peter said, Child of God, you
were a sheep going astray, but are now returned into the bishop
and shepherd of your souls. Now the God of peace that brought
again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of
the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant,
make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working
in you that which is well pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ,
to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. Amen. God bless you.